Sheila Stamm Samalin

In the '60’s, there was ever-present pressure for young women to gain their MRS. degree along with their B.A.  After attending Cortland State Teachers’ College, and upon graduation as an Education/English major from Hunter College, I readily complied with society’s dictum and married Ed Samalin, a law student/Prince Charming.

I fortuitously found a position as a first-grade teacher at Traphagen Elementary, gained tenure and promptly left to begin raising a family.  My husband passed the bar, opened a law practice in northern Westchester in Yorktown Heights, of which I had never heard.  In December, 1964 it was a one-horse town, quite rural, and with a new practice, new house and impending childbirth, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

David, born a week after the move, gave me the purpose and grounding I needed.  He was followed 3 years later by Andrew.  I became steeped in domesticity, my husband’s practice and his interest in local politics, and was so committed I misplaced my own identity, probably stashed under the diaper pile in the laundry room.

Jonathan, our third son, arrived in 1977, and as an "older mom" was a pro in the childcare department but hungered for some unidentifiable, missing ingredient in my life.  Took a calligraphy course at the Westchester Art Workshop and voila!, I found my calling.  After studying intensely, I founded Calligraphy Unlimited, a lettering and design studio.  It has morphed into an invitation studio as well, serving the social/corporate sectors in the tri-state area, with enough Fortune 500 companies on my client list to offer praise, gratify my ego needs, and yield a few shekels.

Divorce severed our union almost 20 years ago.  My sons are grown; the elder two are a crackerjack salesman and a portfolio manager, happily married, yielding two delicious daughters-in-law, the daughters I never had.  There are 4 grandsons and, at last, miracle of miracles, a granddaughter, Sydney Elizabeth.  At 29, my youngest son, Jonathan, is holding out till a special young woman comes his way, and is a phys ed teacher/dean at George Washington High School in Manhattan.  The most adventurous of the progeny, he recently purchased 17 verdant acres in Costa Rica.

I await Prince Charming II, not yet identified, while living happily in my cozy condo in Somers, grateful for good health, a wide circle of friends, a supportive family, enough financial security, and the determination to work out frequently despite basic laziness.